The present invention relates to a passenger retaining system intended to retain the passengers in a vehicle in the event of a crash of the vehicle. Seat belts are an example of such systems. More recently, air bags, which are installed in the driving direction in front of the passengers and which are inflated in crash situations, have come into use to retain passengers. A disadvantage of the prior-art seat belts is that they are not fastened in many instances and, therefore, are not effective when not fastened. In the case of air bags, there is the risk that; due to their explosion-like expansion and the high pressure which is brought about, the potential for panic by the passengers is increased. Moreover, both prior-art measures will not, in all instances, avoid the possibility of the passenger sliding through the belt or the air bag to below the seat and into the foot space of the vehicle and against an interior vehicle surface without protection.
In German patent application published without examination, No. 2,537,212, a retaining system is disclosed which, at the moment the driver gets into the vehicle, is extended into a position at a convenient distance from the knee or shin bone of the driver by means of an appropriate sensing device and is left there to prevent the driver from sliding down into the space in front of the seat in the event of a crash. Among the disadvantages of a system of this kind are the constant appearance of the retaining system and the constant limited freedom of movement of the passengers, with the likelihood that, during the whole service life of the vehicle, the dangerous situation to be prevented may very well never occur at all.